Iraqi travelers and immigrants are no longer subject to restrictions imposed by Donald Trump's new travel ban -- not so much for Syrian migrants and other refugees from several Muslim-majority countries. It's still unclear if President Trump's executive order passes the constitutional sniff test, according to critics.

Trump's revised travel ban adds clarity

One of the travel ban's subjects of debate was the wide range of confusion in the language contained in Trump's original executive order on travel. Critics from both sides of the political aisle on Capitol Hill pushed back on the merits of the document in providing specificity on which foreign travelers were affected by the temporary ban, as the Hill wrote.

"The ban explicitly exempts legal permanent residents, people who are dual citizens of another country that isn't banned, foreign nationals traveling for diplomatic purposes and those who already have a valid visa to come to the U.S."

Iraq removed from list of banned Muslim countries

Early on, critics were stumped over Donald Trump's decision to include Iraq on the list of banned majority-Muslim countries. Over a decade ago, the two countries entered into an agreement to stamp out terrorism, mostly recently, they aligned in the fight against extremist groups like the Islamic State. Iraqi officials welcomed the Trump administration's about-face, arguably, a major policy shift, as sources report.

Ben Wedeman, CNN's Senior International Correspondent, weighed in on Trump's revised travel ban. He said the decision to exclude Iraq from the list of banned countries hinges on the pledge that the Middle Eastern partner would use its stringent practices to vet travelers prior to entering the United States.

No distinction among Muslims in revised ban and other changes

Trump's new travel ban now places all refugees on an even playing field. Now, all immigrants are subject to a four-month hold. Moreover, the revised travel executive order allows for waivers on a "case by case" methodology. Finally, revisions to the Muslim travel ban won't go into effect until March 16.
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